The development and experimental validation of a mathematical model for predicting hot-surface autoignition hazards using complex chemistry

A new acetaldehyde cool flame model had been formulated on the basis of our current understanding of the low-temperature acetaldehyde oxidation mechanism. The 20 reaction model has been reduced by justifiable simplifications to 8 species equations and has been combined with the equations describing the free convection boundary layer flow over a vertical hot plate. The resulting reacting flow model has been intergrated numerically to predict the initiation of cool flames in the boundary layer. The model was further simplified by reducing it to 5 species equations and then subsequently to 2 species equations without significantly affecting its predictions of the experimentally determined cool flame initiation positions. The chemical model has been applied successfully to predict cool flame behavior in a continuously stirred tank reactor. The model accurately predicts all the important features of the system including both stationary and oscillatory states.